


My Treasure

by digitaldreams



Category: Octopath Traveler (Video Game)
Genre: Crushes, F/M, Fights, Light Angst, Monsters, Not Beta Read, Therion chapter three spoilers, theritressa fans come get y'all juice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-22
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2020-07-10 11:15:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19904833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/digitaldreams/pseuds/digitaldreams
Summary: To Therion, Tressa is worth more than gold or jewels.





	My Treasure

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Treekianthia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Treekianthia/gifts).



Contrary to popular belief, Therion did not like to see people suffer.

As the lone wolf of the group, it was a common theory that he was always alright with seeing people in pain. His controversial past as a thief did not help this misconception in the least. Others who encountered the odd group of travelers seemed to make sure they were always a few feet away to avoid being potentially stabbed in the back by the mystery man who spoke to none of his past.

However, despite this, he didn't enjoy seeing others in unfortunate circumstances.

They were in the Cliftlands fighting off a particularly nasty beast at the request of the people of Everhold. It wasn't somewhere Therion had wanted to spend the afternoon, but Alfyn was always too ready to help people, which meant his plans of a quiet few hours at the tavern were instantly thrown out the window. Instead, he twirled his dagger once and lunged forward, dealing a nasty slice to the shoulder of the inhuman beast.

It was too dark for Therion to properly see what was going on. The only light in the area was created by Cyrus' casting of fire magic. The thief watched as flames tore at the monster's skin, prompting the creature to roar out in pain.

Therion got a brief glance of the area around him. They were at the top of the cave in the beast's domain. There was a sharp edge to the floor a few feet away from where Tressa was standing. If someone fell off, they would be sent tumbling down to the entrance of the cave. It was a pretty decent distance to the bottom, and he didn't even want to imagine what would happen if anyone fell that far.

It would bring back memories he wasn't too fond of.

Tressa cast a powerful wind spell, which slammed into the creature. Therion turned his attention back towards the battle. He watched as the monster stumbled backwards. H'aanit dove out of the way to avoid being trampled, Linde following after her mistress gracefully.

A smirk appeared on his face. This was too easy. Why had the townspeople been so afraid of a monster that would go down so easily?

The beast let out a roar of agony. It swung one of its lengthy arms forwards. Therion's body went tense as he realized how dangerously close the attack was to Tressa.

Tressa was something unique, even among the group of oddballs they had pulled together by some damn miracle. She was still a child, and one with much innocence at that. She was peppy, a voice of optimism when Primrose was upset about her vengeful crusade or when Ophilia was guilty over taking so many lives on their travels. Tressa was the beacon of hope that helped them press on despite the darkness threatening to close in around them.

Therion had some other thoughts about Tressa, though that was putting it lightly. He had been so dark and lonely for so many years. Tressa was a breath of fresh air, a lovely piece of sunlight to break the void his trauma had built since the incident with Darius. Tressa made Therion feel wanted in a world that told him otherwise. She kept him stable when everything went to hell.

He knew he loved her.

Grappling with his feelings hadn't been easy, but he had come to terms with it. Tressa had been there for him when he felt as if the universe was against him. Therion had come to get used to, come to love, her cheery one-liners and jokes. Her voice lingered in his ears long after she left the room. He couldn't help but smile to himself behind his scarf when she entered the room.

Which was why he had to do this.

The thief found himself springing towards the merchant before he knew what he was doing. The monster's arm blew over his head, creating a small draft that blew his hair out of place. He landed on the ground, Tressa beneath him. They were both breathing heavily as Olberic unleashed a final blow to fell the beast.

The monster roared and collapsed into a heap. Silence covered the cave until Alfyn let out a cry of excitement. Primrose and H'aanit smiled to one another, a display of mutual respect. Cyrus smiled shamelessly as Olberic sheathed his sword. Ophilia hugged Alfyn in a moment of triumph.

Therion and Tressa didn't move. They just stared at one another. Therion willed himself to look up at the light streaming in between the cracks of the cave walls. The sun was in the perfect position to remind him of the day he fell.

He could almost see the outline of Darius just before the impact of the kick came. Therion blinked it away and willed his mind to stop thinking of it. His muscles throbbed, and while Therion knew realistically it was because of the exertion from the fight, part of him was reminded of his sudden hit to the Cliftland rocks after the fall. 

Therion managed to look away, but his eyes fell on the entrance of the cave. Tressa would have landed there, broken and battered, had he not intervened. He wouldn't let that happen. Unlike Darius, he knew people weren't disposable objects. Therion understood how valuable life was, perhaps because his had come so close to ending that horrid day.

He pushed himself off Tressa, his heart still pounding like a drumbeat of panic in his chest. Therion refused to let Tressa go through the same things he had. The fall had been the worst day of his life, and Tressa was too young, and far too innocent, to endure such tragedy. He needed her smile in his life, and it would go away if she fell like him.

Tressa got to her feet as well, brushing dirt off her skirt. She looked up to Tressa, unspoken thanks in her eyes.

When their gazes met, Therion felt heat rise to his cheeks. He knew he loved her. She was much more to him than any physical object he stole. Diamonds and jewelry were coveted possessions, but they weren't the treasures Tressa spoke of so openly.

Tressa was his treasure.

Tressa rushed forwards and pulled him into a hug. "Thank you," she murmured.

Therion was stunned into stillness at first, but he found himself returning the gesture. He shut his eyes, a million and one ideas of how to tell her how he felt rushing through his head. This incident had only shown him how precious she was to him.

"You're welcome," he said instead, biting back all the phrases of relief he wished to spill. Therion wasn't one for openly declaring his emotions, but time was limited. People could die when you least expected. Nearly perishing yourself taught those lessons all too well. He would have to tell her one day.

But not today.

Therion watched as Tressa pulled away and bounded over to the other travelers. He picked up his knife, which had been dropped in the chaos of the fight, and tucked it back into its sheath. He watched as Tressa babbled excitedly to the other travelers about their peak performance in the battle.

A smile appeared on his lips. Even if he didn't tell her today, that was alright. Regardless of if she knew it or not, she was his treasure, and that wasn't about to change.

**Author's Note:**

> I actually didn't ship Therion and Tressa, but then I wrote this fic. Wow.
> 
> I wrote this since I joined a discord server with some TheriTressa shippers, and I was surprised to learn that it was a rather underrated ship in the grand scheme of Octopath relationships. This wouldn't be the first time I wrote for a rarepair (literally wrote the single Ophilia/Tressa fic that's in English), so I decided to do it again. Exploring Therion's angst was enough to get me to ship it too. Dang.
> 
> It's been a while since I wrote Octopath, and it feels good to be back. I found an old Primrose/H'aanit short I never finished, so if I can go back and edit that, it should be up soon. In the meantime, if you want more Octopath shorts, I've written a few others you can check out if you're so inclined. I've done ship fics for Olberic/Cyrus, Therion/Alfyn, and Ophilia/Tressa along with a Primrose-centric short about her chapter four. If any of those interest you, I would greatly appreciate your looking into them.
> 
> As for other story updates, I'll be posting another chapter of Galaxy of Hyperion around Tuesday, and the usual Alitia update is also coming on Tuesday. Secrets beneath Secrets will have another chapter on Thursday as usual as well.
> 
> Anyways, that's it from me! I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> -Digital


End file.
